FRAC Chat

As the school year wraps up and summer begins, out-of-school time providers in our nation’s communities are transitioning from comprehensive afterschool to summer learning and enrichment programs. Along with the shift in programs, providers are also shifting from afterschool snacks and meals to summer meals. This summer, program providers will continue to navigate challenges related to the pandemic while also working to access new federal COVID-19 relief funding that can support out-of-school time programming.

A new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) details barriers to eating healthy that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants face. According to the report, the most commonly noted barrier (61 percent) is the high cost of healthy foods.

The findings are not shocking to anti-hunger advocates and echo many of the concerns already voiced by those with lived experience with hunger.

The Community Eligibility Provision provides schools and districts in low-income communities the opportunity to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students on a four-year cycle. Despite the disruption of school nutrition operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, year-after-year adoption of community eligibility has not slowed among schools and districts across the country, as explored in FRAC’s report on community eligibility in the 2020–2021 school year.

A new Mass INC Polling Group survey sponsored by the Shah Family Foundation, reveals that while Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits helped many Massachusetts families purchase groceries, many others who were likely eligible to receive benefits and were experiencing food insecurity missed out on SNAP and P-EBT during COVID-19.

The Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2021, introduced by Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), will boost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for all participants and make further improvements.